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Monday, November 30, 2015

Black Axe, Canada Zone

Mapping a secret criminal hierarchy for the first time is a rare kind of detective work. So when two Toronto police officers and an RCMP analyst in British Columbia started documenting the existence of something called the “Black Axe, Canada Zone,” they could not have predicted it would take them to funerals, barbecue joints and deep into African history before they understood what they were seeing.

The Black Axe is feared in Nigeria, where it originated. It is a “death cult,” one expert said.

The group has been linked to decades of murders and rapes, and its members are said to swear a blood oath

An investigation by The Globe and Mail found that “Axemen,” as they call themselves, are setting up chapters around the world, including in Canada.

Like any criminal organization, it focuses on profit, police say. But instead of drug or sex trafficking, it specializes in a crime many consider minor and non-violent: scamming.

Bemuda the National Head of Black Axe with fellow members.

Officers in Canada first heard the name “Black Axe” less than two years ago, said Tim Trotter, a detective constable with the Toronto Police Service. They are working quickly, trying to stop the group from becoming entrenched.

“I mean, 100 years ago, law enforcement dealt with the same thing, the Sicilian black hand, right? It meant nothing to anybody except the Sicilian community,” Det. Constable Trotter said. “And that’s what we have here.”